color woodcut, ink on paper, 25x16 cm, signed with a seal
The magnificent series *Illustrated Album of One Hundred Birds of Bairei* was published in three volumes in 1881 (Meiji 14), with a supplement containing new designs published in 1884, also in three volumes. The volumes are titled Sky (Air), Earth, and Water. These beautiful woodblock prints depict birds in their natural habitats, among trees, flowers, and plants, throughout the different seasons. Carefully observed and drawn with fine, calligraphic lines, these prints are an excellent example of Bairei kacho-e (bird-and-flower prints). The woodblock prints are executed in black with shades of gray and a delicate orange.
Volumes containing these woodblock prints are held, among other places, in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the British Museum in London, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The publication is registered under number 40070693 at the National Diet Library in Japan.
Kōno Bairei (1844–1895) was born Yasuda Bairei and lived in Kyoto. He was a member of the Maruyama-Shijo school and a master of kacho-go (bird-and-flower) painting during Japan’s Meiji period. In 1852, he began studying under the Maruyama-school painter Nakajima Raisho (1796–1871). After Raisho’s death, Bairei studied under the Shijo-school master Shiokawa Bunrin (1808–77). In 1880, he opened an art school, and his students included Takeuchi Seihō, Kawai Gyokudō, and Uemura Shōen. His works included prints of flowers, birds, and landscapes with elements of Western realism. The artist’s most famous work is *Bairei hyakuchō gafu * (*Bairei’s Album of One Hundred Birds*), published between 1881 and 1884. In 1893, Bairei’s artistic and commercial success was honored with his appointment to the Imperial Court Art Committee.
